Notes from a Small Island - European Travel Books

Paperback - 01 May, 1997 - Harper Perennial
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By: Bill Bryson and Bill Bryson
ISBN: 0380727501

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About this book

Reacting to an itch common to Midwesterners since there's been a Midwest from which to escape, writer Bill Bryson moved from Iowa to Britain in 1973. Working for such places as Times of London, among others, he has lived quite happily there ever since. Now Bryson has decided his native country needs him--but first, he's going on a roundabout jaunt on the island he loves.

Britain fascinates Americans: it's familiar, yet alien; the same in some ways, yet so different. Bryson does an excellent job of showing his adopted home to a Yank audience, but you never get the feeling that Bryson is too much of an outsider to know the true nature of the country. Notes from a Small Island strikes a nice balance: the writing is American-silly with a British range of vocabulary. Bryson's marvelous ear is also in evidence: "... I noted the names of the little villages we passed through--Pinhead, West Stuttering, Bakelite, Ham Hocks, Sheepshanks ..." If you're an Anglophile, you'll devour Notes from a Small Island.

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Reviews by readers

Very enjoyable

I am of two minds about this book. First, I hated to come to the end, as with most Bryson books. It's like traveling with someone who amuses you a great deal and whom you will miss when you part ways. On the other hand, I was often clueless about where he was (no, I did not bother to consult a map). Athough he provides a short glossary, there were many unfamiliar terms to this California guy. There are certainly recuyrring themes, to say the least. There might be room for an abridged version of this book for people outside the U.K. But I would buy the unabridged version because I would not want to miss a great turn of phrase, even at the cost of listening to more whining about bad hotels. And what's with the binge drinking? Why didn't his wife accompany him to ANY of the cities? I propose that she write "What I do while Bill is gone on his trips."

fantastic yarns

Suberb wit both dead pan and absurdist.It is like listening to a good friend tell a story totally enthralling.If you enjoy books of wordplay clever dialouge and charcters and enjoy a writer who's a bit like a modern James harriet with a pinch of Evelyn waugh this is the book for you.Also has the obsession with funny names of rohl dahl.

Laughs galore

This is the third Bill Bryson travelogue I have read. This has several laugh-out-loud sections, particularly if you have travelled in the United Kingdom. It is excellent for relaxing on weekends or on a plane. If you have never been to the UK and don't know any British people, then don't form all your opinions based on this one book, but Bryson does a good job distilling some of the differences between our nations into an amusing few hundred pages.

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